


Badinage

by foggynite



Category: Zoids (Anime & Toys), Zoids: New Century
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Drinking, Flirting, M/M, Spoilers for Series End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29987538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foggynite/pseuds/foggynite
Summary: The party after the Royal Cup and things just fall into place.
Relationships: Bit Cloud/Jack Sisco
Kudos: 1





	Badinage

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to FFN on May 20, 2002. That... was a long time ago.

The Torros compound was alight with festivities, Doc sparing no expense to celebrate the Blitz Team's elevation to S-class. The party had been in full swing for hours, replete with dinner and now dancing in the main hangar bay. All the teams had accepted the invitation, even the bitter Fuzzy Pandas-- Er, Tiger Team-- and there were at least ninety people packed into the decorated hall.

The hangar was crowded, loud music blaring from the DJ's speakers and a fully stocked wet bar just adding to the sweaty press of bodies. For once, Leena had given in and was actually dancing with Harry, much to the relief of the innocent bystanders caught in the ongoing melee. Naomi was alternating between dancing with Leon and Brad, who in turn would dance with each other far closer than decency decreed in a public place. And despite his young age, Jamie was at the bar, intent on getting plastered in order to dull the pain of financing Doc's latest squandering.

Bit observed his teammates from the edge of the dance floor, waving off the friendly advances of one of the Tasker twins with a sheepish smile. Being in the center of it all, the rush of fighting and winning and now celebrating, was exhilarating. The rush still hadn't faded, but his energy was beginning to flag.

A loud cheer on the opposite side of the hangar caught his interest, and he wound his way somewhat unsteadily through the crowd, fru fru mixed drink sloshing on his hand. Doc had gone so far as to rent battle simulators for the revelry, which to Bit made as much sense as bringing a broken carburetor to a mechanic's picnic, but quite a few warriors were gathering around the machines.

Noticing a certain mercenary at one of the controls, Bit ditched the drink and politely shouldered his way to an empty console, strapping in with a smirk.

"Tore yourself away from the adoring fans to come play with the big boys?" The rough growl over the comm-link made his stomach tighten.

"Someone has to show you how it's done."

"Then by all means continue."

Interest in the simulators had increased, as it usually did when Bit and Jack Sisco went toe to toe. Concentrating on the 3-D geometric grid in front of him, Bit ignored the comments and bets being placed. Both warriors seemed to be piloting erratically, though, and there was good- natured joking over how tipsy each was.

"C'mon, Bit!" Leena thumped on the outside of the terminal. "If you let him win, I get double bathroom privileges all month. So lose already!"

"Hey!" Brow furrowed in concentration, Bit still managed to yell indignantly. "Whatever happened to supporting your teammates?"

"A girl has needs, Bit, and I want my bathroom time." She smiled sweetly, ducking her head into the pseudo-cockpit and making the Demonic Face. Bit crowded against the other side of the simulator in surprise, looking away from the screen. Jack laughed over the comm, deep and gravelly, as he managed to clip Bit's Command Wolf in the tail and freeze its command system.

"I call interference!" The Liger pilot protested, breathing a sigh of relief when Leena backed away to crow her victory.

"A little distraction shouldn't break a true warrior's focus." The amused taunt made Bit grind his teeth together. Then he let out a bark of laughter as another pilot destroyed the mercenary's zoid, winning the mock battle.

"Look who's talking, bub," he called, leaving the simulator.

Jack climbed out of his console, letting another warrior get in, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I beat you, Cloud."

"Through nefarious means!"

"You weren't piloting with your usual--" Cicso coughed "--skills anyway. Harry could have taken you out." They ignored the Champ heir's protests.

"Like you were doing any better!" Bit frowned, but his clear green eyes were amused.

"Both of you weren't paying attention." Brad interrupted smugly. "Which is why I won."

Bit rolled his eyes while Jack flipped the other mercenary off. Laughing, Brad wandered back to the dance floor with a jaunty wave and the gathered crowd began dispersing.

Beginning to address the Lightning Saix pilot again, Bit was intercepted by Doc.

"Ah, Bit! There you are!" The normally jovial scientist was bursting with enthusiasm and good cheer, making Bit nervous. When Doc smiled like that, Jamie usually started popping antacids.

"Hey, Doc. This set-up's great."

Ignoring the compliment, Doc latched on to Bit's arm. "I just thought of the greatest weapons system for the Liger Zero-- Wings! Wouldn't that be amazing?"

"Um, right, Doc." Prying himself free, Bit gave an encouraging grin. "Why don't you draw up some plans?"

"Wonderful idea!" The elder Torros boomed and went in search of a cocktail knapkin.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Bit laughed to himself. "I hope he's drunk. It's hard to tell sometimes."

Turning around, Jack was no where in sight. Watching the view screen for the simulator, he guessed the mercenary had returned to the game.

Catching a cool breeze from the open elephant doors, he decided to get some fresh air and see how his partner was doing. All the zoids were resting in the waning sunlight, gleaming metal shells covered in a light desert dust. Tripping only a little, he weaved through the visiting zoids to get to the Liger Zero, snickering at the thought of needing valet parking in the desert.

Liger was freshly scrubbed and repaired after his fight with Vega and the Berserker Fury, standing proudly like a sentinel guarding his post. Upon Bit's approach, the zoid crouched low, as if ready for his pilot to go gallivanting across the open plains.

"Hey, buddy. Having fun out here?" Bit patted the nearest armored leg and laughed at the Liger's grumbling. "It'll only be a little while longer. Everything's about ready to wind down. Don't worry, though, I'll make sure you're back in the hangar as soon as everyone's gone."

A rumbling assent, and he hoisted himself up on a foreleg to recline. He planned to just rest a moment, cool off, before returning to the party. The emerging stars overhead distracted him, and he lost track of time watching the slowly changing colors of the sky.

"So here you are."

It seemed his body was programmed to respond to that liquid velvet voice, and he rolled on his side to look lazily down at Jack.

"What, Harry beat you?"

"Ch." The mercenary snorted with disgust and pulled himself up next to Bit. His balance seemed to have recovered from earlier. The Liger's greeting resonated through the area and Jack twitched, eyeing the zoid warily.

"Don't mind him. He's happy to see you." Bit snickered at his distrust.

"Why's that?"

Smirking enigmatically, Bit returned to his star gazing in the early twilight, laying out on his back. With a resigned sigh, Jack stretched out beside him. After a moment, Bit broke the comfortable silence.

"It's funny how, up until a year ago, I only dreamed of having a zoid. And now here I am. S-class." His voice was uncharacteristically subdued and Jack smirked.

"Don't let it go to your head. No matter how quick you climb the ranks, you're still a rookie."

Smiling, Bit glanced over at him challengingly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." For once, Jack grinned back.

With a small laugh and a shrug, Bit looked back up. Jack turned his face away, but his eyes weren't focused above.

"Y'know," he started in a quiet voice. "The Cup. That might have been our last battle with each other."

"Nah," Bit waved the comment away cheerfully. "Either you'll make S-class next year, or Leena will blow up the wrong person and get us demoted."

Snorting with amusement, Jack shook his head. "More likely she'll blow you up."

"Liger and I have managed to avoid her so far," Bit declared proudly. "Well, mostly. Besides, I'm sure you'll find a team to make it through the Cup with."

Jack shrugged as though he hadn't a care, but perhaps the drinks from earlier made his tongue loose. "It takes more than skills to get through the Royal Cup. There has to be the drive, the determination to get there no matter what you go through. Some people just don't have what it takes."

"So you're finally admitting I'm the superior pilot?" Bit sat up triumphantly, teasing the mercenary.

"Is that what I implied?" Jack shrugged innocently and smothered a grin. "I suppose you might be superior to the Fuzzy Pandas. Or maybe those rocks over there." He nodded to a far ridge with lumpy boulders stacked haphazardly down the side.

"Hey!" Indignant, Bit made a half-hearted attempt to punch him in the arm. Easily swatting the fist away, Jack laughed mockingly, spurring the Liger pilot on.

"I'll show you superior!"

And with that, Bit lunged. Jack tried to catch his wrists, but Bit just laughed and twisted out of his grasp, ducking under the mercenary's hands to attack his sides. Eyes bulging with scandalized shock, Jack began to laugh hoarsely as Bit tickled him, his struggles becoming more frantic until he finally kicked off the foreleg and rolled for the edge.

"Oh no you don't!" Bit caught his sleeve and pinned the gasping warrior with surprising strength. Trying to catch his breath, Jack realized Bit was lying mostly on top of him and blushed in the shadows.

"That was underhanded," the mercenary accused gruffly, shifting in an attempt to ignore his growing discomfort. Bit's smirk widened.

"A little distraction shouldn't break a true warrior's focus," he parroted. "Besides I like to think of it as a sanctioned maneuver meant to render my opponent immobile." A cocky grin and Jack narrowed his eyes. "Seems like it worked."

"Really?" With an unexpected roll of his opponent's hips, Bit found himself staring up at the other warrior. "Seems like you're losing to me."

The Liger pilot didn't look too disappointed. A pale pink tongue flicked out to moisten his lips, upper teeth biting down to gently suck his lower lip in, leaving the skin gleaming. A minute shift of his hips, and Jack took in a shaky breath. "Oh, dear. Seems like I am."

"Yeah." The mercenary's voice wasn't half as confident as normal, gaze focused on the moving mouth beneath him. Slowly lowering his head, he looked into Bit's clear gaze. "If you can call this losing."

"Yeah." The quiet, distracted agreement spurred Jack on, and Bit met his lips halfway.

At first just an explorative pressing of searing flesh on flesh, the kiss was almost chaste as they became accustomed to the sensations. Then the Liger pilot bucked his hips upwards, nipping lightly on Jack's lower lip. With a groan, Jack deepened the kiss, moist tongues clashing with a clack of teeth. Bit's fingers dug into his biceps, arms still trapped in the pin hold.

Awkwardly shifting without breaking the embrace, Jack rested his elbows on either side of Bit's ribs and let his hip roll against the other warrior's obvious arousal. Pleased with the responding moan, he sucked on the writhing tongue teasing the corners of his mouth.

Making quick use of his hands' freedom, Bit pushed the low-riding headband from the mercenary's forehead and ran his fingers through the spiky dark hair. The weight pressing down on him was welcome, heating him in the chill night air.

Liger growled suddenly, and the two broke reluctantly apart.

"Someone's coming." Bit laughed wryly, wanting nothing more than to continue what they were doing, guests be damned.

But the sound of approaching drunken laughter was clearer now, and Jack rolled his eyes, pushing off Bit and moving to his side. They sat in the darkness together, chests heaving and cheeks flushed as they recovered. The group beneath moved on, too distracted with their own concerns to look above them.

The two warriors exchanged glances in the dim light, Bit chuckling at their luck.

"Maybe we should--" Jack started at the same time Bit offered, "My room has a lock--"

Both broke off, and Jack smirked. "You wanna put in a final appearance tonight?" He nodded back at the waning festivities.

"Nah. They'll get along without us, I think."

Another cocky grin, this one ripe with anticipation, and Bit threw the mercenary his headband. Catching it deftly with one hand, Jack motioned to the edge.

"Lead the way, rookie."

"Just try not to fall on me, old timer."

And with that, they slipped into the shadows, headed for the back entrance of the barracks.

Giving a satisfied rumble, Liger shook himself off and waited for the silly humans left to get out of his room.

**Author's Note:**

> [Tumblr](https://jrocci.tumblr.com/)


End file.
